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Bit of Tea & Honey

Monday, December 3, 2018

I am so pleased to be partnering today with Fat Quarter Shop to present their new pattern: Fat Eighth Fruitcake!

I made my version with Victoria, by 3 Sisters. It is available at the Fat Quarter Shop here. (And as of today, it is on sale!) I love these soft colors. Check out the bundle on Fat Quarter Shop's website and you will see the pretty flowery details. (Also, my living room is decorated in red and blue, so I am always searching for those fabric colors.)

I love love love being able to create a quilt with a fat eighth bundle: it is a way to save money on my favorite fabrics! That said, this quilt is a really nice size. It's a win-win!

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Bonnie the Bunny

A special welcome to new friends today, joining us on the Luna Lapin Blog hop!

I have a very special guest joining me today. Her name is Bonnie. Bonnie the Bunny. She has joined our family and is such a sweet new addition. She is Luna Lapin's California cousin, and we could not be more proud to share Luna's story with you today!

You see, Luna Lapin has her own book! It is an utterly charming story of a fashionable and sophisticated rabbit - with patterns for the bunny and many accessories you can make all on your own. Want to take a peek?

Our Bonnie is a younger bunny. She is living here, in sunny California, wearing the cutest little clothes, all made with patterns from the book.

At school, she wears her uniform and has a matching school bag. Drawing is her favorite.

The bunnies usually take lunch outside.

After school, Bonnie and her friends head to the ice cream shop. Her favorite flavor? Carrot, of course!

Bonnie loves to be in nature: picking mushrooms (don't worry: she knows the safe ones),

She is a busy gal! At night, Bonnie relaxes with some nice reading (about her favorite bunny, and cousin). Pajama and sheets fabrics by Bonnie and Camille. Bunny slippers made by modifying the book's shoe pattern.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Peppermint Swirls Quilt at Quiltmaker Magazine

Hello friends! A little dream of mine has come true: my quilt pattern is in a magazine! Quiltmaker magazine is featuring my Peppermint Swirls quilt in their Nov/Dec 2016 issue. There are so many beautiful quilts featured, so to be among them is so, so exciting.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Crystal Zagnoli at The Quilted Cricket for the beautiful quilting, and to all of the people at Quiltmaker magazine for allowing me to share. Not to mention, look how pretty! They really styled & photographed it so beautifully.

As an aside, I found the magazine recently at Joann's, so I know that you can buy it there. And may I add that when I saw it I was by myself, so resisted the urge to jump up and down and squeal and clap. But let me tell you, that was not easy!

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Have you seen the new book, Sew Illustrated, by Minki Kim and Kristin Esser?

I follow both authors on Instagram, so when I saw the pictures coming from their posts, I threw down my needle and thread and frantically ran to the bookstore bought myself a copy. Because how cute is a little sewn house??!!

Of course, I went a little crazy and made some Halloween houses...

And some Christmas houses...

Tasha Noel's fabrics are pretty much perfect for the fussy-cut details...

And I'm not sponsored by them, or anything! Just a big fan! So many cute projects for the future!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

I wanted to share a fun little zipper bag pattern with you today. I was inspired by a similar zipper bag I saw on Pinterest (of course). Have you seen this Pin? I saw this and wanted to make one, but it is only a tutorial in pictures.

So here is my version - pattern and tutorial! Note: this tutorial assumes knowledge of Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP). If you would like more information about FPP, please search YouTube for tutorials and then come back here to create.

Now prep the template by setting stitch length to 1.6. Take the thread out of your needle and sew perforations into the pattern. It should look like this:

Take your first strip set and lay it face down on top of your second strip set face up. You will need to line up the fabrics in two ways: First, the edge of the fabric should match the 1/4" seam allowance mark on your template. Second, the middle line of the first section of the template needs to line up with the seam allowance on your fabrics. See the line that the pins go under?

Since the template's middle lines are on an angle, your face-up fabric will now be on a bit of a diagonal. Make sure that you have plenty of fabric within the lines of the second section of your template. Trim the fabric to 1/4" seam allowance, pin, fold your template back over to the front and sew.

Flip the fabric over and iron. Repeat this step for each section and it should look like this from the back:

And flipped to the front:

Trim around the template so you have a square:

Make two.

Then place both pieces right-sides together and sew:

Remove the paper and voila!

My finished piece came to 7.5" wide x 4" high. Now to make the zipper pouch! First, I should say that there are LOTS of ways to make a zipper pouch. Feel free to use your own favorite method. Here is what I did: sew this piece to a 7.5" x 6" rectangle.

Now, cut batting and a lining fabric to match the size.

I made little tabs to cover the ends of the zipper: these were rectangles of about 1.5" x 3". Fold in half and place on the ends of the zipper, about 1" in from the edges of the fabric.

Sew the zipper tabs in place with a straight stitch. Now put all of the layers in place: first the batting, then the bag front, then the zipper face down, then the lining fabric, face down:

Using a zipper foot, sew along the top edge of the bag.

Flip the front over and you should have this:

Now unzip the zipper. To attach the zipper to the other side of the fabric, I folded the front of the bag and the batting to the other side of the zipper, and the lining up to the other. Sew again using a zipper foot.

I ended up with a tube:

Sew down each side of the tube to make your bag

To box out the corners, I folded the sides down and stitched 1.25" across the bottom of the bag. Turn inside out and your bag is ready!

About Me

Jenny, crafter, quilter, mom of 10 year old big sister and 7 year old little brother. Former retail buyer, lover of fabric, interiors, paper, knitting. Oddly drawn to baskets and anything in miniature. When I get some downtime, I grab a cup of tea & hope to share my crafting adventures!